{"id":559,"date":"2010-10-20T20:05:52","date_gmt":"2010-10-20T19:05:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=559"},"modified":"2010-10-20T20:25:35","modified_gmt":"2010-10-20T19:25:35","slug":"charts-17-october-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=559","title":{"rendered":"Charts – 17 October 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week’s number 1 is still\u00a0Cee Lo Green<\/strong>, for the second week. \u00a0I covered that single in the previous post<\/a>, if you haven’t read it yet. \u00a0It’s an odd race for the top, with the number 2 slot going to Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are”<\/a> – another former number one, and according to the midweeks, currently likely to return to the top on Sunday.<\/p>\n

This is also the first chart to come with something of an asterisk attached. \u00a0We are now into the X Factor<\/em> live finals, and this year, the performances are available for download on iTunes. \u00a0But the record company has opted to exclude from the chart. \u00a0(More accurately, you need to register a single with the Official Chart Company to opt in. \u00a0But same difference.) \u00a0From Simon Cowell’s point of view, there are good reasons for this. \u00a0If it becomes clear that somebody’s a runaway leader, there’s no tension going into the final.<\/p>\n

But we know that songs can re-enter the charts on the strength of X Factor<\/em> performances; and we know that even Sky One’s Must Be The Music<\/em> was able to propel three singles into the top ten, with a much lower audience. \u00a0The chances are good, then, that if the X Factor<\/em> downloads were eligible for the charts, several of them would have made it in – even with the first week giving audiences sixteen tracks to choose from. \u00a0(They’re doing double eliminations in the first few weeks to get the numbers down to a more sensible level.)<\/p>\n

Would any of these tracks have made number 1? \u00a0My guess is, probably not. \u00a0X Factor<\/em> winners inevitably get to number 1 (Joe McElderry made it on his second week of release), but their singles are part of a grand narrative. \u00a0These ones aren’t. \u00a0The audience is split between sixteen acts. \u00a0They’re released on Saturday nights, so the sales will be split between two chart weeks. \u00a0And as we’ll see shortly, there’s a limit to the promotional power of a single performance on the show.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, this week’s highest new entry…<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n

…is “Barbra Streisand” by Duck Sauce<\/strong> at number 3. \u00a0Bouncy, isn’t it? \u00a0The radio edit is actually even shorter than the video, clocking in at 2:20, perhaps reflecting how long you really want to listen to that sample looping. \u00a0Those made of sterner stuff will be pleased to know that iTunes also has a five minute version available.<\/p>\n

The sample is from “Gotta Go Home” by Boney M, which was a number 12 hit in 1979.<\/p>\n

<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n

To be honest, Duck Sauce have a point. \u00a0It’s a song with a great hook and… some other stuff to bridge the gaps. \u00a0Now it’s just a great hook on loop. \u00a0As for Barbra Streisand, she has no obvious connection to the song at all. \u00a0We haven’t actually seen her name on the charts since 1999, when a duet with Vince Gill called “If You Ever Leave Me”<\/a> got to number 26. \u00a0Her biggest hit was “Woman in Love”<\/a>, a number 1 for three weeks in 1980. \u00a0(It’s very musical theatre, but I’ve always liked it.)<\/p>\n

This is the second hit for Duck Sauce, following “aNYway”<\/a> which just missed the top 20 last November. \u00a0Duck Sauce are Armand van Helden (13 hits to his credit dating back to 1997, plus some high profile remixes) and A-Trak (a Canadian producer who hasn’t charted in his own right).<\/p>\n

That’s the highest new entry. \u00a0But perhaps the bigger news is the first “proper” single by 2009 X Factor<\/em> winner Joe McElderry, “Ambitions”<\/a><\/strong>. \u00a0Despite several weeks of promotion and an appearance on the X Factor<\/em> results show, it stumbles in at number 6 – and the midweeks show it crashing to 20.<\/p>\n

The YouTube video isn’t embeddable, which is perhaps a mercy, because the choreography is truly abysmal. \u00a0It’s like a flash mob aerobics class or something.<\/p>\n

It’s an inferior cover version of a mid-paced pop song by a band called Donkeyboy, which was a huge hit last year in their native Norway. \u00a0Their version was number 1 for 12 weeks, and it was only replaced at the top by the band’s own next single. \u00a0So to be fair, you can see why Simon Cowell would think it had some wider appeal.<\/p>\n

<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n

But the cover\u00a0version\u00a0hasn’t attracted much attention. \u00a0Entering at six, dropping to number 20 in week two… that’s really<\/em> bad for the follow-up single by an X Factor<\/em> winner. \u00a0Granted, it’s unlikely that any future winner will equal the record set in 2005 by Steve Brookstein, who got dropped after his first single. \u00a0On the strength of this, the future isn’t looking too good for Joe McElderry. \u00a0Chances are he’s already on his way to being airbrushed out of history, in favour of playing up \u00a0the show’s successes Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke. \u00a0Nobody really wants to be reminded that ITV’s flagship talent show can ultimately just be\u00a0Who Wants to be Leon Jackson?<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Other new entries this week:<\/p>\n